Pumping apparatus and method of operating the valved plunger of a well pump



Aug. 5 S. B. SARGENT ET AL PUMPING APPARATUS AND METHOD 0F OPERATING THE VALVED PLUNGER OF A WELL PUMP Filed Nov. 22, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet l Ill! ,1U

/Z/ nvm 1 iwf/4 Patented Aug. 5, 192A.

SUMNER B. SARGENT AND SUMNER B. SRGENT, JR.,

CALIFORNIA.

Mgmt@ or nuNmeTou PARK,

PMPING APPARATUS AND METHOD F OPERATING THE V'AIED` PLUNGER 0F A WELIrPUMP.

Application led November 22, 1923. Serial No. 676,266.

To all whom t may concem.'

and SUMNER B. SARGENT, J r., citizens of the United States, residing' at Huntington Park, in the county of Los Angeles and Statey of California, have invented a new and useful Pumping Apparatus and Method of Operating the Valved Plunger of a Well Pump, of which the following is a specification. n

y This invention relates to a method for operating the valved plunger of a well pump without the use of sucker rods, and also relates to apparatus by which'j the method may be performed. l y An object of the invention, primarily, is to produce operation of the pump plunger by fluid pressure rather than, as is customary, b the reciprocation of a string of sucker ro s. l

1n many oil fields of the present time drilling for oil is carried to comparatively great depths, often 5000 feet and over. After the flowing of an 'oil wellfceases, it is generally deemed profitable to put the well on the pump. In other wordslower aipump into the well and operate it byv a string of sucker rods. Such -suckerrod operated pumps can be employed successfully 1n comparatively shallow wells, but it is practically v impossible to pump wells that are 5000 feet or more in depth for the reason that the lstring of sucker rods cannot be made strong enough to sustain their own w'ei ht andthe Weight of the column of li ui above the pump plunger. Increase in t e diameter of the sucker rods to increase their tensile strength also increases their weight and the weight of the entire string increases faster than the strength. K

To avoid the use of sucker rods in `deep wells, we have devised a method of operating the valved plunger which enables us to exert from the top of the well a iiuid pressure of sulcient magnitude against one face of the plunger to oveiibalance the wei ht of the moving parts and of the column'o iquid on the opposite face of the plunger, so as to move the plunger against such weight and thus raise'the plunger and liquid, and to then decrease the pressure thus. exerted to less than that produced by the weight of the v being a `of a portion of the i liquid column and moving parts so as to Be 1t known that'we, SUMNER B. SARGENT permit gravity to return the plunger. These operations are repeated at intervals, the frequency of pulsatlons or number of strokes per unit of time depending upon the degree of pressures and weight of the moving parts.

.Another object is t0 provide a construction which will operate eiiciently and is simple and not liable to become disarranged and get out of order.

The accompanying drawings illustrate an apparatus built in accbrdance with the provisions of this invention and capable of performing the various operations ofv the new metho Figure 1 is a more or less diagrammatic view of the apparatus, the storage tank being shown in' vertical section and the remainder of the apparatus in plan,

Fig. 2 isan elevation, mainly 1 n vertical mid section, of one of the pumping units, art of the apparatus shown in Figure 1 ut being concealed from view `in -said figure because of the character of the view. l

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional elevation pumping unit shown in Figure 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional elevation of the lower portion of the pumping unit shown in Figure 2. o,

Fi 5 is a plan section on'the line indica by 5-5, Figure 3. A

Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation of the upper portion of the pumping unit shown 1n Fi ure 2.- i

igs. 7 and 8 are plan sections on the lines indicated by 7--7, 8--8, respectively, Fi re 6.

ig.' 9 is a ty ical sectional detail of the construction at t e head of each well.

The vparts of the apparatus that can be seen in Figures 1 and 9 are as follows: The apparatus may be employed with one. or more wells, lindicated at 11. In this particular instance seven wells are shown. The tubings are indicated at 12 and are connected with a discharge manifold 13. The manifold 13 is provided on each of its branches with valves 14 and with chk valves 15. The manifold 13 is carried to any desired point for discharging the liquid produced by the wells and, in this instance, it is shown discharging into a storage tank 16.

Each of the wells 11 is provided with another tubing or casing 17 that surrounds the pump tubing 12 and is of sufficiently greater diameter than the pump tubing to produce an annular passage 18, the casings 17 being connected to a liquid supply manifold 19. The manifold branches are provided With manually operated valves 2U, check valves 21 and suitable pressure regulated valves 22.

The manifold 19 connects with means for producing variation in the fluid pressure within the .tubing 19, said means, in this instance, being in the form of a pump 23 operated by steam or any other motive power. In this instance the steam chest of the pump 23'is indicated at 24 and the piston rod at 25 and the pump 23 is connected by a pipe 26 to any suitable source of liquid supply which, in this instance, is the storage tank 16.

The constructions in the different wells are alike and, therefor, only that in one of the wells need be described in detail and such construction is illustrated in Figures 2 to 8 inclusive and is. as follows:

The pump tubing 12 hereinbefore mentioned is connected by a suitable coupling 27 to a working barrel 28 which, in this particular instance, is formed in sections connected by a coupling 29, which is screwthreaded into the adjacent ends'of the workingv barrel sections. The working barrel 28 is provided below the coupling 29 with a port or ports 30 which communicate with the annular passage 18.

Mounted in the working barrel 28 is a plunger comprising end portions 33, 34 of smaller diameter and an intermediate portion 35 of larger diameter. The plunger portion 34 slides through the working barrel portion 36 of reduced inside diameter, and the vplunger portion 33 slidably fits in the coupling 29. It willbe seen that the annular space 37 between the coupling 29 and plunger portion 35 constitutes a chamber whose cubical content varies according to the position of the plunger, and that the annular space 38 between the plunger portion 35 and the barrel portion 36 constitutes.

'a chamber whose cubical contents also vary according to the position of the plunger. The ports 30 communicate with the chamber 38, and ,a port or ports 39 infthe plu-nger above the portion 35 open from the plunger into the chamber 37. The is valved, being provided in this 1nstance at its upper end with a valve 40 which may be of any suitable constructioirsuch as is well known in this art.

' The plunger portion 34V also slidably lits l'nan externally tapered bushing 41 which engages the tapered seat 42 of a coupling lun ger 43 that serves to unite two sections of the tubing 17. The bushing 41 is screw-threaded into the lower end of the working barrel 28 or an extension thereof.

The construction hereinbefore described is sufficient to constitute an operable apparatus for effecting the pumping operation, the method of operating the valved plunger being as follows: A fluid pressure of sulficient magnitude is exerted from the top of the well in the chamber 38 against the face 44 of the plunger to overbalance the weight of the moving partsand of the column of liquid on the opposite face 45 of the plunger to move the plunger against such weight and thus raise the plunger and said column.

' This is accomplished by operating the pump /23 which pumps liquid from the storage tank 16 through the supply manifold 19 and tubing 17 so as tov force the operating fluid through the annular space 18 and ports 30 into t-he chamber 38 and against the plunger face 44. The in stroke of the pump 23 accomplishes this.

The next step in the operation is to decrease the pressure of the operating fluid to less than the pressure produced by the weight of the moving parts and column of liquid that is being pumped to permit gravity to return the plunger. This is accomplished by operation of the pump 23 on its out stroke. Thus, the pulsations of the operating fluid effected by operation of the pump 23 are transmitted to the plungers of the pumps in the various wells. lt will be readily understood that, when the plunger 33, 34, 35 operates on its up stroke, liquid within thel chamber 37 will be eX- pelled therefrom through the' ports 39 into the bore of the plunger." l

The usual standing valve, not shown, 1s

provided at the lower end of the working barrel and as theplunger rises on its suction stroke said standing valve opens to admit fluid to the working barrel and the valve 40 closes, thus effecting lifting of the liquid column above the plunger in a manner well understood in this art. The plunger having reached the end of its suction stroke begins to descend because of the reduction in pressure of the operating fluid against the plunger -face 44. To obtain this result the plunger area upon which the liquid above the valve 40 acts will be greater than the area of the plunger face 44. The valve 40 remains closed until the pressure beneath said valve becomes greater than that above the valve which then opens, thus balancing these pressures. The inertia of the downwardly moving plunger is a force that will continue to be exerted after the valve 40 opens, and this force isA supplemented by the weight of the moving parts, which weight is of sufficient magnitude to overbalance the pressure of the operating fluid against the plunger face 44. It may be advisable to increase the effect of gravity by adding the desired number of loose weights 'to the plunger, as will be more fully exdepth of the wells or the gas pressure thereim and, accordingly, the pressure regulated valves 22 will be adjusted to permit the operating liquid to flow into the different wells at the pressure that is discovered to be right for effecting peak production or less, as de-l sired.

Though the above described apparatus constitutes a complete operating assembly,

. it is desirable to .provide a check valve in the pump tubing to prevent back flow of the liquid being pumped when the plunger operates on its down stroke, thus to avoid the necessity of raising the column of liquid the distance that it would havedescended with the plunger were the check valve not present. A suitable check valve for this purpose is indicated at 45 and may be of any deslred construction. In this instance the check valve 45 is mounted in a slightly tapered seat 46 in the coupling 27 and comprises a seat member 47 tapered externally to engage the seat 46, and a valve 48 to engage a tapered seat 49 formed in the seat member 47. The taper of the seat 46 is much less than that of the seat 47 so that the seat member 47 will remain stationary when the valve 48 opens. The valve 48 is operated by a rod 50 which may be considered to be a reduced portion of the plunger and which connects with the cage 51 of the valve 40 and extends through packing 52 in the valve 48. rlihe valve cage 47 is provided with openings 53 and is of less diameter than the inside ofthe pump tubing so that liquid can flow freely through said openings. As the plunger operates on its down stroke, the valve 48 will be retained on its seat and, as the plunger moves upwardly, the `valve 48 will be raised by the rod 50 until said .valve strikes the upper end of the valve cage 47 As the pump plunger continues on its up stroke the rod 50 will' slide through the packing 52 and then, during the first part of the down stroke of the plunger, the rod 50 will actuate the valve 48 into closed position upon 'the seat 49. rllhis limited lift of the valve 48 is necessary in order to close quickly to accomplish the purpose for which it is placed in the pump tubing.

lt has been hereinbefore stated that the check valve 45 can be omitted, in which eventthe weight of the moving parts and of the colum'n of liquid above the plunger, resting upon said plunger, would function initially to return the plunger when said weight overbalances the pressure of the operating fluid. However, when the check' valve is employed, said check valve, closing, prevents the weight of the raised liquid column from coming effectively upon the valve 40 and, consequently, the down stroke of the plunger would not be aided under such conditions unless the plunger were extended through thel check valve into the space above said valve. In order to return the plunger, the upper end of the rod 50 is provided with an enlarged plunger portion having in its interior a valve seat 55 for an upwardly 0pen ing ball check valve 56. The liquid that is raised by the upstroke of the pump plunger passes the check valves 45, 56 and enters the pump tubing above the plunger portion 54.

When the pressure of the operating fluid is subsequently decreased, the overbalancing weight of the moving parts and of the liquid column upon the plunger portion 54 thrusts the vpump plunger on its down stroke.

The weight of the moving parts may be increased by the addition of loose weights, as hereinbefore referred to and a ynumber of these are indicated at 57, being mounted upon a stem 58 that projects from the top of the valve cage 54.

It will be readily understood that the valve 56 cannot be used in lieu of the valve 45, because the valve 56 will not close until the pump plunger reaches the lower end of its stroke, whereas the valve 45 closes shortly after the pump plunger begins its down stroke, due to the rod 50 frictionally engaging the packing 52.

We claim:

1. A pumping apparatus for wells comprising a working barrel having a port and having a portion of its bore reduced in diameter adjacent to the port, a tubular member `surrounding the working barrel and spacedtherefrom to form a passage, means to close the lower end of the passage, and a tubular valved plungerin the working barrel having a reducedrportion slidably fitting the reduced bore portion, the reduced portion terminating in a pressure face acted upon by fluid admitted through the portand said pressure face being of less area than the area of the upper end of the plunger.

2. A pumping apparatus for wells comprising a working barrel, a plunger in the Working barrel, means extending to the top of the well to produce a greater fluid pressure against one face of the lplunger than that resulting from the weight of the moving parts and liquid column on the plunger and to then decrease the first pressure, and an upwardly opening check valve in the pump tubing, the plunger having a valve cage below thecheck valve and a valve in said cage, the plunger having a reduced -portion passing through the check valve, the

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spaced therefrom to form a passage, means to close the. lower end of the passage, a tubular valved plunger in the working barrel having a reduced portion slidably fitting the reduced bore portion, the reduced portion terminating in a pressure face actedl upon by fluid admitted through the port and said pressure face being of less area than the area of the upper end of the plunger, and an upwardly opening check valve in the pump tubing, the plunger havin a valve cage below the check valve an'dkr a valve in said cage, the plunger having a reduced portion passing through the check valve, the plunger having an enlarged portion above the check valve and having an upwardly opening valve in said enlarged portion.

woaeoa -a tubular plunger inthe working barrel having a reduced portion slidably fitting the reduced bore portion, the reduced portion terminating] in a pressure face acted upon 'by Huid admitted through the port and said pressure face being of less area than the area of the upper end oi the plunger, said plunger having cages with Liov openings and upwardly opening valves' in the cages and having a reducedv portion connecting the cages,-and a check valve positioned in the pump tubing between the plunger valves and operatably connected with the plun er.

Signed at os Angeles, California, this 10th day of November, 1923.

'sUMNna B. sARenNr. n

sUMNEa B. saaeanr, JH. 

